Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Tajikistan authorities Monday to restore internet connectivity in the autonomous region of Gorno-Badakhshan (GBAO), and urged federal authorities to ensure due process for a political activist from the region whose whereabouts remain unknown weeks after he was detained.

The trouble in the GBAO began in late November, when the shooting of a local man during an arrest inspired protests in the city, in response to which the authorities cut off local internet access. Protests calmed several days later, after local authorities vowed to undertake a comprehensive investigation into the shooting.

The internet shutdown in the region has adversely affected the economy, trade, and mobility in the region. The Tajik State Communication Service, the agency responsible for access to internet and mobile data, justified the internet shutdown in a news conference by saying that they are concerned about the information security of the state, society, and Tajik people. Although internet cutoffs are allowed under Tajik law during times of crisis, UN bodies and human rights experts have repeatedly condemned such measures. The government has also failed to provide any reasonable justification for such grave measures, according to the advocacy group.

Last month, a local activist named Amriddin Alovatshoev, was detained in Russia, for organizing a protest outside of the Tajik Embassy in Moscow, and sent back to Tajikistan under mysterious circumstances. His family has not heard from him since the day of his detention, according to HRW.

On February 2, 2022, Tajikistan’s Prosecutor General said that Alovatshoev is in pretrial detention facing unspecified criminal charges. The three weeks of detention between January 11 and February 2 have not been accounted for by the authorities. HRW highlighted that “[c]oncealing information about Alovatshoev’s detention makes his deprivation of liberty for three weeks an enforced disappearance [is] a very serious violation of international law prohibited in all circumstances.”

HRW urged the authorities to ensure that Alovatshoev is granted the full protection of the law.